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Tag Archives: Ancestry Message Boards

One of my organizational tips is for everything to have a place… no more sticky notes and scraps of paper. For genealogy, I have something that I affectionately call my “cousins notebook.”

It looks like this… it is a portable notebook from Daytimer called the Malibu refillable journal. There is a lined page version and a plain page version. But any notebook will do!

There are many types of lists and contacts housed in this notebook. When I see a website, hear a speaker, or receive an email about something new, I track helpful websites, particularly if I have to wait to look at it and find it later.

I keep track of newly found cousins. I note which line of the family, Ancestry user name, family tree name, and I also track here whether I have shared my private family tree with them. I keep track of DNA matches as well.

Sometimes I find family trees that I want to look at later, so I note that.

In addition to the hand-written notes to myself, I also have some lists that I use and update. I have a list for each person who has been DNA-tested. I have a ready-made copy and paste list of surnames for when I correspond with DNA matches.

Something that I track in this notebook are the names that have “google alerts” set for surnames and the surname message boards that I have added to my aggregator, Feedly. If you need more information about Feedly, I have other posts about how to use it and set it up to streamline your genealogy sources, blogs, and surname message boards.

I have a list of the maps that I have collected for my research trips (and the ones I want to collect next).

If you belong to RootsWeb groups, this notebook is a great place to track which groups are feeding into your email. I also update this list occasionally, removing groups that aren’t active anymore and adding new groups as my search expands.

The final list that I track and update in my cousins notebook is my society memberships, the cost, and the renewal dates.

One of the best ways to clear your desk is to have a “go to” place for those notes and scraps of paper! Get a notebook and get organized!!

Are you looking for ways to use technology to help you be more efficient and organized? Feedly is an amazing tool to help the Internet work for you! If you have never used an aggregator, it’s easy to set up and easy to use! Go to Feedly.com and get started!

What is an aggregator? It compiles news, website updates, blog posts, and podcasts. For genealogy, one of the best uses is to compile updates to Ancestry Surname Message Boards. Information keeps accruing at the site until YOU are ready to read it.

What you are doing now….

What Feedly will do for you….

Why is Feedly useful? The information that you want to read will be there when you want to read it. You don’t have to remember all of the places that you searched and when you last checked those sites. Never miss a blog post again! And you will be more efficient, saving time for other tasks.

Feedly syncs automatically when you are logged in. And it’s ready to read on your computer, mobile devices, or web-connected ereaders.